Meet Me In St. Louis

Yesterday, I visited two more "must see" sights in St. Louis. The old Union Station, which is now a Hyatt hotel connected to a massive shopping arcade is quite a sight. The grand hall, very reminiscent of the re-done Grand Central Station in NYC has been beautifully restored and has a sense of grandeur you don't see often in today's architecture.

Later in the morning, I visited St. Louis zoo which is a lot like almost any other zoo except that entry is free. Interestingly, the St. Louis zoo has now overtaken the San Diego zoo in attendance and is now #1 in the U.S.

Despite the rain, another highlight of my visit was the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The gardens cover 79 acres a few minutes drive from downtown. I found their children's garden quite unique and has several themed areas where kids can climb, explore and learn. The place was founded in 1859 and is the oldest continuously operating botanical garden in the world. Apparently the designation of "botanical garden" implies not just horticultural display, but also research and education. Thus, any "botanical garden" will have major research and education initiatives as part of their mission. Visit the garden's famous web site at http://www.mobot.org/ and learn about this place and everything you wanted to know about gardening!

Now that I'm ready to leave, you know what I think is the best part of St. Louis? It's that I know I'll find something great to keep everyone in the family happy. I can entertain the kids at City Museum and the zoo. I know the Botanical Gardens and Union Station will keep my wife happy. And I know I can spend hours walking the shops at The Loop (looked like there were some interesting record and CD stores that are worth a visit) and visiting the art museum and Missouri history museum (and these are free too - great for a cheapskate like me!)

For those of you who remember St. Louis from several years ago, I can assure you that the downtown area is much different than it used to be I walked around at about 10 PM last night and it seemed perfectly safe. So, hopefully we'll see you some time in St. Louis!